Pixiq

You are fair.

That was a nasty assult by that officer. She’ll get a lot of money for that one.

Maybe the officer “feared for his life.”

now that you mention the fear you can see it all over his face.

Perhaps he had an argument with his wife on the way out the door and just misplacing that aggression someplace where he wouldn’t get in any trouble.

soldier boy tell’em: First amendment ‘ERE WE GO!

Hey! A friend of mine was attacked and killed by a pink tiara! Those things are vicious!

“Fucking do it again!”

You can’t say she didn’t ask for it

She didn’t “ask for it.”

She did not ask to be struck and knocked down to the ground. Even if she did, is that how a professional LEO responds…based on the emotional statements of a civilian?

Whatever it was that the female said was an indication that she felt she was within her lawful rights and the police were out of line. That is the whole concept of the First Amendment.

A professional and ethical law enforcement officer responds within the law and tactical necessity; not based on their insufficient ability to accept a few taunts, whatever they are, from anybody, but especially from someone so much weaker.

In this case it wasn’t even taunting in any real sense. It was a First Amendment expression, the very same right which allows all of us to comment here.

“You can’t say she didn’t ask for it”

Yes, We Can

Karl, if I tell you to hit me and you hit me who’s fault is that?

Here is a link to the whole story

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/31107_Zombie-_Anatomy_of_a_Video...

The officer was completely justified in pushing her away. Sometimes force is necessary when your dealing with a mob.

Great Jones, another “liberal media is conspiring to twist the truth” story.

Well the truth is, the Rocky Mountain News weren’t the only photogs out there.

My friend, Al Crespo, was also out there. He’s the one that sent me the press release.

Hopefully, he’ll be commenting on this thread.

The question I have is why did police wait until later to arrest her? If she really was interfering, why not just handcuff her after bashing her with the nightstick?

Or better yet, why not just order her to place her hands behind her back?

Obviously, this cop allowed his temper to get the better of him.

Yes, it was a tense protest. But there was never a point when the officers were fearing for their safety. It was just a matter of crowd control. I’ve been in those situations as a photographer many times and the only violence that breaks out is when police start getting physical.

But as the anonymous writer and photographer on that site states, Forrest was able to get up, walk around and then start talking to journalists.

And it was only then that she was arrested.

So she wasn’t interfering at the time of her arrest. She was expressing her Freedom of Speech by talking to reporters.

If she was really interfering, then they were all interfering because they were all standing in the same location.

But she was the only one arrested, so it’s obvious she was arrested not for interfering or for even refusing a police command.

She was arrested for speaking her mind.

And that is why she should file a lawsuit.

An officer doesn’t have to fear for his safety to touch somebody. I don’t know where you get that from.

In those situations you try not to arrest unless you have to. There was no hurry to arrest her, she wasn’t going anywhere. They waited until they had it set up so they could grab her and go. You see in the video it was a very well executed arrest, they grab her and she disappears before the mob could even react. If he tried to arrest her while she was playing possum he probably would have been attacked.

She was arrested for speaking her mind

How many people were there and how many people were arrested? Your telling me the rest of the people there were not speaking their minds?

Jones,

I bring up the whole “fear for their life” thing because they always seem to bring that up when making unlawful arrests.

Police said the same thing about me when they arrested me. They said I got “violent” and started taking photos. Right.

And it’s being brought up by you, perhaps unconsciously, when you say they did not arrest her while she was on the ground because the mob would have attacked them.

If anything, the mob would have attacked them after he attacked her.

But they did not.

Jones #9

“…if I tell you to hit me and you hit me, who’s (whose) fault is that?”

Are you kidding me? If one is a law enforcement officer, one does not, and should not, base their actions on emotional statements from the public.

So to answer your question of, “(whose) fault is that?”…if I were back on the street and in my police uniform, and you were at a protest rally wearing a Code Pink uniform, and you told me to hit you, it would be my fault if I did so, absent any lawful justification. It would be even more egregious if I did so out of anger and a loss of personal control.

If an officer responds with emotion and excessive force after what he perceives is an affront to his authority he is out of line.

I read the story and looked at the pictures at the link you posted. Here is a quote from the author at that link:

“…At that point, Officer Stewart simply lost his patience with this annoying gadfly…”

You can’t do that as a police officer. You cannot lose your patience. You must keep your actions under control and within the law. And I fully understand all the surrounding tension as described at your posted link.

The officer’s statement is further evidence of the inappropriateness of his actions:

“Back it up, bitch!”

And further description from the author at your posted link:

“…as he clonks her on the forehead or on the sunglasses, causing her to fall backwards…”

The officer was not justified in pushing her away with the amount of force he used.

You say “sometimes force is necessary when your (you’re) dealing with a mob.”

I understand, very well, Use of Force situations in a wide variety of circumstances including as you say, “a mob.”

Please tell me the personal experience and legitimate training from which you are drawing in establishing your proclamations of how much force is acceptable and when.

I don’t understand how you reach your conclusions.

Karl,

Jones is a highly trained officer. He’s an expert on all things police related. His department leads the nation in developing and documenting new police procedures and methods. I thought you knew that.

Actually Jones always takes the side of the police no matter how egregious their behaviour. It’s kind of good for the blog because it makes it interesting as he explains away and justifies their behaviour. That is after all what Officer Stewart did. He was totally correct it telling her to “back it up bitch”.

I do have to give Stewart credit. At least he didn’t give her a fake “back it up ma’am” when he intended to say bitch. He spoke his mind and let us all know where he was.

No, I don’t always take the side of the police unlike most of you who always take the side opposite the police. No need to lie Duane.

Karl, I didn’t see anything wrong with what he did other then calling her a bitch. That was unprofessional but not illegal. That wasn’t the first time he pushed her away either, she kept coming back like a little ball of hate. Sure he lost his patience with her but that doesn’t mean what he did was illegal. You never lost your patience with somebody in your career? If he lost his patience and shot her we would have a problem. The prosecutor agrees with me.

Ok Jones you don’t always take the side of the police. Just 99.99% of the time. I also don’t always take the side against the police if you read my posts.

Even if she kept coming back she didn’t make contact with him. I’ll agree she invaded his personal space but that’s not a crime the last time I checked. She didn’t make do anything menacing to make him fear for his life. The prosecutor even agrees with me. He was just a hot head looking for an excuse to whale on someone. That’s what I see.

Just because she kept coming back like a little ball of hate isn’t provocation to knock her to the ground. While what the officer did might not raise to the level of an indictable offense doesn’t mean that here first amendment rights weren’t violated. She will get a remedy at law from the department for the use of excessive force. The officer will get a pat on the back.

Jones,

I don’t always disagree with police but I guess I only write about them when I disagree with them.

For the most part, I do agree with police. Especially when they are apprehending the bad guys. The real criminals.

I just take issue with them when they violate the civil rights of people who are not necessarily criminals.

But it’s good to have you around debating these issues.

Jones #15,

What I found, in my police career, was that the more someone is trying to frustrate the attempts of an officer, that is precisely the time when an officer needs to increasingly maintain his own composure (it really should be at all times) – for his own safety (physically and legally) and for the safety of others.

If you define losing patience with the end result involving an out of control or overly aggressive action, then my answer is, No, I have not done that in my police career. If you define losing patience as becoming frustrated with the action or inaction of others but still maintaining control, then Yes, I have been there.

The shove and resulting knocking to the ground was excessive. Just because the Denver City Attorney did not bring an assault charge against the officer does not mean his action was not excessive. Most prosecutors rarely bring charges against officers in the area of their own jurisdiction, even if charges are warranted.

The Denver City Attorney also dropped charges against the female. Do you claim that action as the City attorney agreeing with you as well?

An officer’s force must be the minimum amount necessary to overcome an opposing force.

What the officer did, in totality, with all of his strength and aggression, needs to be reserved for when he is facing a much higher level of resistance, opposition or aggression. What he did was more than what was necessary for what he faced.

I still don’t see how you are reaching a different conclusion. From where do you get that?

In other news, Kanye West got charged with assault for taking a photog’s camera and smashing it.

Maybe we can get some police charged with the same thing?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7952183.stm

hi carlos….i don’t have much time to devote to this debate, but I’ve reposted my photographs and comments about what I witnessed with Alicia Forrest. click on the website link, and it’s the red button at the bottom.

I had provided an affidavit – the first one that I have ever offered in all my years of working as a photojournalist – on this young woman’s behalf because I thought that the cop was completely out of line. Therefore I was happy to hear from her attorney that the charges had been dropped.

As for the time span between the assault and the arrest, I noticed in both Denver and St Paul – the site of the Republican Convention – that there was often a time lag, and I believe that that was as a result of a conscious legal strategy on the part of both police departments to make these “late” arrests as a way to try and inoculate themselves against lawsuits by the people the police attacked by arresting them and charging them with any kind of crime. The best defense is often to go on the offensive.

In any event, this is not the last such incident that will be reported on your blog, and for those who think that protesters in America are “out of line” for standing up against injustices – perceived or real – consider that in many other countries around the world protesters show up with Molotov Cocktails and come prepared to actually fight for what they believe in.

al crespo

http://www.thephotoworksagency.com/

Damn, Al, you were right there when it happened.

Jones said, ‘“Fucking do it again!”
You can’t say she didn’t ask for it’

Yep and if a cop said “fucking do it again” and you hit them, you better believe they would drag you in on assault. The cops aren’t above the law.
(and why do I feel that Jones is just trolling)

I’m wondering if you’ve received a press release of any kind from Daniel Recht, the attorney leading Ms. Forrest’s defense? The Denver Post made mention of a press conference, but for the most part, they only mention the fact that it happened, with few actual quotes from this press conference.

That the Denver city attorney dropped the charge is proof enough that the prosecution’s case had little or no merit. I’m wondering if Recht has provided any additional bullet points as to the weakness of this case from the standpoint of the defense.

incredible work, carlos, keep fighting the good fight. “dropping the charges” just doesn’t cut it anymore–reporters and others, who’ve done nothing wrong, need to push back by any legal or civil means necessary.

LaFajita,

This is what I have:

Charges Dismissed Against Code Pink DNC Protestor Who Was Struck With Baton By Cop

PRESS CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT AND PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Issued by Daniel Recht and David Beller, ACLU cooperating attorneys for Code Pink Protestor Alicia Forrest
March 18, 2009

Press Conference Today, March 18, 2009, at 3:00 p.m.
1600 Stout Street, Suite 1000, Denver, CO

Dan Recht issued the following statement:

This morning, the Denver City Attorney dismissed criminal charges against DNC peace activist and Code Pink member, Alicia Forrest.

Ms. Forrest was charged with interfering with a police officer after a video captured Denver Police Officer Scott Stewart violently strike Ms. Forrest with his baton and yell, “back it up bitch.” The arrest occurred after Ms. Forrest was helped off the ground and began telling members of the media what had occurred. She faced up to one year in jail if convicted of the offense.

If the First Amendment stands for anything, it stands for the right to peacefully protest without being bashed violently with a baton by a police officer.

Click on the following links to see the video of the officer striking Ms. Forrest with his baton and knocking her to the ground. The Rocky Mountain New link is without the photographer’s commentary and you can hear the officer yell “back it up bitch”. The youtube.com link has commentary from the Rocky Mountain News photographer.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/videos/detail/police-use-force/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzrBYF99QKI&feature=related

The City Attorney is to be applauded for evaluating this case in a reasonable and fair manner and concluding that the charges never should have been filed.

It is sadly ironic that a peace activist was the victim of violence at the hands of the Denver Police.

In protecting their own, the Denver District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges against the officer. Yet Ms. Forrest, who did absolutely nothing wrong, was subjected to arrest, detainment, and eight months of legal limbo. Fortunately, and despite the humiliation, her First Amendment rights stood strong against a thuggish police officer.

Everyone’s precious First Amendment rights were compromised when this 5’2″ protestor, wearing a pink tiara with the word “peace” glittered on it, was beaten and arrested. The public should be outraged and offended by the actions of this police officer. Such police misconduct should never be tolerated.

Ms. Forrest is seriously considering a lawsuit, but a final decision has not been made.

Counsel representing Alicia Forrest in cooperation with the ACLU of Colorado:
Daniel N. Recht
David M. Beller
Recht & Kornfeld, P.C.
1600 Stout Street, Suite 1000
Denver, CO 80202
303-573-1900
dan@rechtkornfeld.com
david@rechtkornfeld.com

Thank you for your reply. I no longer have to bug Recht and Kornfeld for information that they are under no obligation to provide me.

Jones your an idiot and your probably one of those pigs. This is outrageous police misconduct. She did not ask for it. Nobody asks to get beat down by a police officer. A very ignorant police officer. I have no pitty on that officer. There needs to be severe severe severe punishment for that officer. He has a gun and a badge and has been given alot of authority. If this happened to your sister “JONES” I dont think you would say that she ask for it. It would not suprise me if you were a PIG cop yourself.